Phases of the Moon
by Neon.Pink.Dot
Summary: Being a teenage girl is hard enough. Being a teenage girl whose world becomes a cocktail of supernatural events is just plain disastrous. That's not to mention the fact that I've started exploding into an overgrown ball of fur every time I stub my toe. Why must this be my life? Wolf pack centric
1. Prologue

**A/N: So this is the product of procrastination and getting bitten by the writing bug.**

 **I decided to set this story near the end of Twilight, right before Bella's Prom. All of the boys have not phased yet, but the signs have started showing. This also means that Leah and Sam are still dating and in love. I wanted to really play around with the beginning for the wolf pack because it wasn't really explained in the books or movie.**

 **The chapters will be longer from now on, so bear with me :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. All of that belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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Life is made up of many different decisions. Some small and trivial, others huge and life changing. Right now I was facing the latter. Run or fight?

To say I had a dilemma would be the understatement of the century. On the one hand, my self-preservation had always been a very strong quality and it was saying "run like a mother". On the other hand, however, I wanted to stand my ground and fight with everything I had. I may be cautious but I was definitely not a coward. I just liked to choose the option with the least amount of opportunities for me to die. What can I say; I loved living.

My opponent stood opposite me in the clearing of the forest, smirking as he watched me fighting an internal battle. The man gave off an aura of danger and everything about him was unsettling. His skin was odd shade, an almost deathly white that seemed to give off a dull glow in the darkness. Slightly down turned dark eyes were gleaming in the moonlight, sinister amusement playing out across his narrow facial features.

The general "gloom and doom" atmosphere of the forest did not help my pounding heart in the least. It was a cold and misty night. The fog seemed to hang around the trunks of the trees like an army of wraiths: dangerous and foreboding. The wind moaned and creaked through the otherwise deadly silent forest. The sound sent shivers down my spine.

"Well girl, what will it be?" The man asked in an acidic voice that contained a note of anticipation, no doubt due to his sadistic joy at my fear. "What will you do?"

He was taunting me; trying to get me to attack him even though I would probably lose. I glared at him and clenched my fists tightly, steeling myself for what I was about to do. I refused to let him get the best of me, I _would not_ die. I guess that means I know what my decision is. I opened my mouth as if to reply and then turned around and ran to the surrounding forest as fast as my legs could take me. My opponent was stunned for a few seconds before he released a vicious laugh and gave chase. I dodged and swerved through the trees, trying to avoid all the roots and branches that extended from the foliage. The fog seemed to get denser the further into the forest I ran, swirling and coiling around my body like a snake. I stumbled a bit as my bare foot slid on a rock I didn't see, but I regained my balance and ran even faster. I tried to listen to see how far the man was behind me but all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. Through the tree branches and leaves I could faintly see the light of a nearby house and I started sprinting towards it with frantic desperation. Just when I thought that I might escape, the man suddenly appeared in front of me and threw me to the ground. My head hit a rock with such a force there was a loud crack, causing an explosion of colours to light up behind my eyelids.

"Do you honestly think you could get away from me?" The man laughed as he stood over me, his dark eyes swirling like pools of oil. I tried to scramble away from him but he just tutted and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me into the air. My head was throbbing painfully as I struggled in his iron grip, trying desperately to break free but my efforts had no effect whatsoever.

"It was worth a try" I said, my voice sounding uneven and thick. I was beginning to gasp for breath as his grip around my throat continued to tighten. As I spoke my opponents mouth pursed dangerously.

"Well that was a rather pointless attempt, was it not?" He shook his head slowly as if to emphasize his point, never breaking eye contact with me as he did so. This was it. I was going to die at the hands of this man. He was going to kill me. It was written in his expression, in his poise and obviously from the way his hand was still tightening around my neck. If I was going to die, I wanted to die with some dignity. I tried to glare at him, but my vision was starting to blur from the lack of oxygen and my fall. The man brought me closer to his body, his face by the base of my neck. Time seemed to slow down as he started to open his mouth over the pulse point in my neck, his teeth about to touch my skin…

I sat up sharply in my bed, gasping raggedly, trying to get more air into my lungs. I looked around wildly, trying to find my bearings. I let out a breath of relief when I saw the familiar pale blue of my bedroom walls. I was shaking and my heart was beating a mile a minute. A thin layer of cold sweat was covering my body, making me shake even harder. My hand was clutching tightly at the pyjama top I was wearing as I tried to calm down. After a few minutes of deep breathing I threw off my white blankets and shakily made my way out of my small bedroom, and to the bathroom that was across the hall.

What the hell kind of a nightmare was that?! Who gets bitten by a man in their dream? This is exactly why I hate watching horror movies before I go to bed, my mind just goes crazy when I dream. I was going to kill Paul with the blunt edge of a yoghurt cup when I saw him in the morning. 'This one isn't scary' he said, 'it will be fun' he said. BULLSHIT! We will see how much fun he has when I shove my boot so far up his ass he chokes on it the minute I see him.

Despite my obvious hatred for Paul at the moment, he is actually a really close friend of mine. We have been friends since he moved to La Push when we were 8; how I have put up with him for another 7 years is beyond me. Naturally as we grew up we drifted apart a little over the years, as it sometimes happens in old friendships, especially being of opposite genders. Even though we are not as close as we used to be as kids, when we basically lived in each other's pockets, we still do hang out a lot although most of the time it is out of school. I wouldn't want to interrupt his favourite hobby- seducing girls.

Yeeaaahhhh… He's a bit of a player, which I guess is my fault. When Paul first moved to La Push he was incredibly shy, especially when it came to girls. It took almost a month of constant pestering to even get him to talk to me, but to be honest I think he did eventually talk to me because he had no other choice. We lived extremely close to one another, so whenever he went outside to play I would be there in all my annoying glory. When we began talking he started off awkward and uncomfortable, but with my endless chatter he started to realise that girls were not nearly as scary as he thought. With the fear of the female population alleviated, Paul the ladies' man was born.

I won't deny that I have had a crush on him since we were kids, but I definitely will never act on it. It's a bit of a turn off to hear all about his conquests, as well as the way he talks about the poor girls afterwards. Not to mention the fact that he used to date my friend, Nina before she moved away. There was still that whole "don't date a friends ex" thing stuck in my head. Leah, my older sister, said it was a golden rule amongst friends although I honestly wasn't sure if that was true or not, but Leah knew a lot more than I did when it came to the whole dating thing. Especially if you take into account that she had been dating the same guy for three years, and I have never had a serious boyfriend. It wasn't even a huge crush anyway, so I was good with being his friend that occasionally ogled him.

I switched on the light in the bathroom and went over to the sink that was in the corner of the room. The bathroom wasn't fancy but I liked it. The walls were a pale grey colour, a few shades lighter than the tiles. There was a bath with a shower head, a toilet and a sink with a large mirror just above it. It was also very clean, especially considering that I share it with both my brother and sister. I let out a deep sigh and splashed some water on my face, trying to wash off the memory of my nightmare. The cool water soothed my frazzled nerves so I did it a few more times. When I was satisfied that I was calm, I turned off the water and dried my face on the fluffy black towel that was hanging near the sink. How I was going to get back to sleep after this I didn't know. I looked at myself in the mirror as I put the towel down. Tired almond shaped eyes looked back at me from my reflection. I watched in the mirror as a single drop of water ran down the straight bridge of my nose, and fell into the sink. My usually wavy hair was tangled, and a few pieces were stuck to my neck and forehead from the water. I huffed, and tried to tame the black mess into a semi decent plait, but eventually I gave up and settled for the birds nest. I turned off the light and went back to my room to try get some more sleep. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and groaned as I flopped face down on my bed. It was already 5 a.m. which meant my mom and dad were going to wake up soon, probably making as much noise as they can when doing so.

I closed my eyes and hoped that I could fall asleep before they woke up. As I started drifting back to sleep there was suddenly a creak as a bedroom door opened, then loud footsteps walking down the hall and into the kitchen. I clenched my eyes shut even tighter and desperately hung on to my drowsiness. A few minutes later there were a series of different bangs from pans and mugs, followed by the loudest sneeze I had ever heard in my whole life that snatched away my sleepiness. I let out a depressed groan and pulled my pillow over my head. There was no way I was going to get back to sleep any time soon.

I _really_ hated Paul right now.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay so the first official chapter is up!**

 **I wont lie, for a long time I debated whether or not to publish this story. I decided why the heck not! Otherwise it would just time up space on my hard drive. I hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters, all of that belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I only own Hannah.**

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"Hannah, go wake up Seth and Leah please." My mom said to me as she scrambled the eggs while simultaneously keeping a close eye on the bacon and tomatoes that were also frying on the stove. The super skills of a mom were on full display as she managed to cook three things at the same time, and never burning anything. "Oh, and tell them that breakfast is going to be ready soon".

Currently I was in our small kitchen, sitting at the table with my dad, drinking a cup of tea. I had eventually given up on the dream of getting back to sleep after another half an hour of noise and joined my parents in the kitchen. Although my parents can be the bane of my existence in the mornings, they are two of the best people I knew and I loved them dearly.

My mother, Sue, was a nurse at the local hospital. My mom was famous for her tough attitude throughout La Push, but she was a big softy deep down. Just don't think she will fall for subtle manipulations like puppy eyes, she's not that soft. She was one of the strongest people I know; although I suppose she would have to be to raise 3 teenagers. Sue and I always had a very close relationship and she was always the first person I went to for advice. Well, after Leah that is. There were just some things that I couldn't talk to my mom about without dying of embarrassment.

My dad was a lot more reserved than my mom was. Harry was one of the tribe elders and often had a say in what happened in La Push. He was very proud of our history, and often used to tell us all of the Quileute legends when Leah, Seth and I were younger. Although most of the kids around the res didn't believe all of the stories the tribe elders told, there was something so undeniably fascinating about them to us.

"Yes mom" I said with a sigh, and started to make two more cups of tea. I knew my siblings well enough to know that waking them up before ten in the morning on a Saturday could potentially be fatal; hence my peace offering of tea. Once the cups were ready I headed to my sister's room. When we were younger the two of us used to share a room, but when Leah became a teenager she started to get annoyed with all the fluffy animals that were in every corner of the room and the toys I had strewn across the floor. She moved all of her belongings into the small spare room that used to be used as a storage room for all my dad's books. It took three whole weeks for Leah to convince my dad to move his books into his room and the narrow lounge, but with bargaining to do some extra chores around the house he agreed. Even though her bedroom was now smaller than mine, she enjoyed having her own space. Being the closest to the bathroom was another reason I think she wanted the room. Leah always managed to get to the bathroom first every morning, which meant she always got hot water. Brat.

With another loud sigh, just to let my mother know how hard done by I was, I nudged the door open with my foot. Just before the door closed behind me I heard my mom laugh at me, being used to my over dramatic reactions. I smiled to myself at the sound, and silently made it across the room to Leah's bed. Leah's walls were painted a warm sandy brown, and covered in photographs. Most of them were of her and her boyfriend Sam, but there were also pictures of the two of us with Seth as well as Leah and our cousin Emily. I smirked as I saw my favourite picture.

It was the only one that was framed, and it hung in the centre of all the other photographs. It was a photo taken a year ago when my family, and some of our friends went down to the beach. The picture was of Leah and I sneaking up behind Sam, each of us had buckets full of icy water lifted in our hands in the process of emptying it on the unsuspecting man's head. Both of us had almost identical expressions of mischievousness on our faces. Leah was laughing in the picture, her mouth stretched in a broad and toothy grin. She was looking at me, waiting for the signal, her beautiful face radiating joy and amusement. I, on the other hand, looked downright impish. My eyes were completely focused on my victim, gleaming with excitement and anticipation for the reaction that was a mere second away. I was grinning roguishly at the back of Sam's head, concentrating on the task at hand. Sam on the other hand was completely oblivious to what was going on behind him and was smiling at the camera, expecting a normal photograph. Luckily that day the wind was so strong it snatch away the laughs that escaped from Leah's mouth, as well as my occasional evil giggles. Seth was in the left corner of the photo, standing behind us with Paul, both of them laughing at what was about to happen. Seth's smile was full of humour, and he was pointing to us with one hand while his other has spread across his stomach as if trying to keep his laughter from tearing him apart. Paul on the other hand was chuckling darkly, as he took a picture of what was happening for himself. Every time I remember the way Sam squealed and twisted away from the water, and subsequently falling into the sand, I couldn't help but smile.

I set Seth's cup down on the bedside table, still grinning, and with my free hand started shaking the lump burrowed under the pile of deep red blankets.

"Leah wake up, breakfast is almost ready."

"Go away!" I heard her mumble into her blanket. I shook her again and then narrowly avoided the pillow Leah launched at my head. Leah was always a grumpy riser. Every time she woke up I stayed away for at least twenty minutes, to avoid suffering the death stare she was shooting me right now through the single hole in her pile of blankets.

"Oi woman, I have tea!" Leah groaned loudly, but pulled the blankets from above her head and sat up. Her silky black hair was a mess around her face; and her dark eyes out-of-focus. Even half-awake my sister was striking, I always envied her beauty. Currently I was at the awkward stage of growing up: everything about my body did not fit together right and pimples were almost an everyday occurrence. Oh the joy. Leah, however, was almost twenty so she was well out of her ugly duckling phase. She didn't even have to try, Leah could just walk into a room and capture the attention of everyone in it.

"Thanks" Leah mumbled, as I handed her the cup. Her eyes tried to focus on her tea, but I could tell she was still half asleep. I smiled at her and picked up Seth's mug again.

"No problem; mom also says that breakfast will be ready soon." Leah nodded, not ready to start thinking in sentences longer than three syllables. I slipped out the door heading to my little brother's room which was next door to mine.

"Oh Sethy-pooh~" I sang as I entered his bedroom. As opposed to Leah's room, Seth's bedroom was relatively bland except for the clothes he wore yesterday scattered on the floor. I couldn't help but snigger at how Seth was lying. His whole body was hidden under his blanket, except his legs. "It's time to wake up brother dear."

I heard a muffled sound, and Seth pulled his legs under the covers and curled into a little ball.

"Breakfast is almost ready…" I teased, and just like I thought he would, Seth sat up in bed so quickly his blanket was thrown across the room. He was wearing a half-asleep smile as he turned to me.

"Food?" I laughed at the dorky grin on his face and nodded my head, passing him his cup of tea.

"Yes in a few minutes, but first have your tea." Seth's smile widened and he started to gulp down his tea at a furious pace, making loud gulping and slurping noises as he did so.

"Hey slow down there pup, you'll get hiccups" I joked and ruffled his spiky hair. Seth set down his cup and wiped his mouth, already finished. I shook my head, amused at my little brother's antics, and picked up his cup to take back to the kitchen.

"Thanks Anna" I winked at him and left his room.

"You're welcome brother bear, but if you don't hurry up I'm going to eat your breakfast," I called over my shoulder as I headed back to the kitchen, "I have no shame! It's the weekend!" I heard him make a disgruntled sound, and then there was a muted thump as he rolled out of bed. Seth was someone you couldn't help but love; his open heart and general friendliness made him impossible to dislike. The two of us had always been really close, which could have been due to the smaller age gap of only two years compared to the four years between Leah and I or the six years between Leah and Seth. Although he was almost taller than me, he was still my little brother and I was a bit of a momma bear when it came it to him. I couldn't help it… that dopy smile of his brought it out of me.

With my mission accomplished, I sat back down in my seat at the kitchen table. After about a minute my half-asleep sister slid into the seat next to me. I offered her another smile, which she returned slightly before resting her head in the crook of her arm. Yeah, Leah was definitely not a morning person.

As my mom served breakfast Seth slid into the seat on the other side of me, eyeing the food eagerly. The minute his food was on his plate he started shovelling it into his mouth at an alarming pace. I laughed as my mom scolded him, appalled by his manners.

Breakfast was as normal as ever. Conversation flowed easily between the five of us, although the main contributors were me and Seth. We joked about our dreams, what they could possibly mean as well as my inability to watch horror movies without having a nightmare like a child. Seth even thought of some creative ways for me to pay Paul back for my early rising. It was some true sibling bonding. Leah was eating quietly on the right side of me, occasionally sighing when Seth and I acted like idiots. Which was unfortunately quite often, so she kind of sounded like a tire that had a puncture- a constant exhale of air.

My parents laughed at our antics, occasionally chiding us for talking with our mouths full. To be fair that was mostly Seth though. He was constantly spooning food into his mouth, barely even stopping to breath. When he finished his breakfast Seth started to steal from my plate. I swotted, punched and whined at Seth every time his had come near my plate, but he still managed to swipe some food each time. Once my food was also finished Seth looked over at Leah's plate with a longing gaze. Leah seemed to feel his intention, and turned her glare of death to him.

"Try it, and I will end you. Painfully." She growled as she shifted further down the table. Seth put his hands up in surrender and smiled brightly at her.

"Okay fine! I'll leave you to eat your food," Seth yielded easily. Leah's perfectly shaped brows raised in surprise and then lowered in suspicion. Seth never gave up on scavenging so easily. I narrowed my eyes at my brother, trying to figure out what he was planning. It didn't take long for him to reveal his intent. He quickly leapt up from his seat, dumping his dishes in the sink before running out the room, yelling over his shoulder: "But I am going to shower first". The tell-tale slam of the bathroom door followed shortly afterwards.

Leah let out an angered squawk. "Seth! Don't you dare use up all the hot water!" She called after him, and slumped down in her seat. I couldn't help but snort.

"Yeah pot, you call that kettle" Even though I mumbled quietly, Leah's head snapped in my direction and her infamous glare started to form. Before she could finish her expression I let out a terrified squeak and stood up quickly, taking my plate to the sink.

"Thanks for the breakfast mom!" I blew a kiss at her and then headed back to my room.

I quickly made my bed and got my clothes ready for the day, and then waited by my bedroom door. I waited for about a minute, before I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening. I ran as fast as I could to the bathroom, almost running my brother over as he left the room, so I could shower before the rest of my family. Luckily I was successful. The last person to shower always got the cold water, and I did not need a freezing shower on the already perfect Saturday morning I had experienced. The minute I locked the door I heard Leah try and open it.

"Sorry Lee, but you're going to have to wait for me to finish this time" I tried to keep the smugness out of my voice as I said it, really I did. I heard Leah grumble something that sounded suspiciously like _"little monster"_ before she shouted at me to be quick.

To demonstrate what a kind and thoughtful sister I was I actually was pretty fast. By fast, I mean ten minutes passed before I shut off the water and stepped out the shower. For me that was practically unheard of. I could easily shower for half an hour or longer. It was always the place I would think the best, so I tended to lose time whenever I stepped under the spray of water.

I wrapped a large black towel around my body, threw my pjs in the wash basket and opened the door to an impatient looking Leah.

"Finally" Leah sighed and pushed off the wall she was standing against and passed me to get into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I crossed the hall and went into my bedroom, quickly changing into the clothes I laid out earlier and started to dry my hair with a towel. I was wearing a pair of jeans, boots and a cream coloured jersey. All items of clothing were extremely comfortable and well-worn in. I only planned to get revenge on Paul today, so there was no point in dressing up. I didn't want to get blood and entrails on my best clothes, after all.

Once my hair was relatively dry I tied it up in a large bun at that top of my head to keep it out of the way, and then headed out of my bedroom. I saw Seth running around the lounge, looking for his jacket.

"Anna have you seen my stuff?" He asked me while pawing around under the couch. "I could have sworn I left it here last night."

"Exactly, that was last night. You know mom hates things lying around the house, so she probably threw it in the wash."

Seth let out a groan and got off of the floor. He turned to me and I couldn't help but laugh at his defeated expression. "But that's the only jacket that fits me anymore! What am I supposed to wear now?" Seth dropped his head on my shoulder and let out a sigh. "When will I stop growing Anna, I feel like a string bean."

"I can't help you there pup, I feel the exact same way." I gave his shoulder a consoling pat. It was quite odd that I was still growing as quickly as my brother. Seth was only thirteen, so it was normal for him to start shooting up. As far as I knew girls usually stopped growing in height at my age, which was fifteen, but I was still growing. The last time I checked I was almost 5ft 7, which was taller than my mom. A few more inches and I would be taller than my dad as well. Now that would be unsettling.

Leah walked into the lounge then, putting on her own coat. She saw Seth complaining into my shoulder, and me comforting him with an amused expression. Leah laughed at our little brother and offered a reassuring pat of her own. Now that she had woken up fully, Leah was her usual easy going self.

"If it makes you feel any better Sam is also still growing, so he also has a bunch of clothes that don't fit him anymore. Maybe you can borrow something from him to wear today, I'm heading to his house right now if you want a lift." That perked Seth back up, and he hastily agreed and went to go fetch his shoes. The three of us hardly ever stayed at home during the weekend, we usually went out with friends and enjoyed not being cooped up in classrooms.

Leah smiled after Seth, and then turned to me. "Do you also want a lift? I'm assuming you are going to the beach to make a certain boy's life hell for a few minutes." Her smile turned into a teasing smirk as she said this. It was a Saturday, and the sun was actually shining for once, so I knew that Paul would head to the beach at some point today. I gave her a smirk of my own, and nodded.

"Oh, most definitely."

* * *

The drive to Sam's house only took a few minutes but the entire time the three of us joked around with one another. Leah was teasing Seth about how he would never stop growing and eventually tower over everyone in the res. A real life BFG she said.

"No, Leah, what if it happens now? You're tempting fate here!" Seth objected from the backseat of the car. I was sitting in the passenger seat next to Leah, having called "shotgun" first. I laughed along with Leah at Seth's pout. Eventually the pout turned into a smile, and then to a full blown grin. Our laughter died down as we approached Sam's house.

The small house was a light blue colour with white furnishings. There weren't a lot of flowers in the garden but the few that had bloomed were a vibrant yellow, standing out against the dull greens and browns of the rest of the yard. Sam had lived in this house his entire life, which was one of the reasons he wanted to move out so badly. There were memories of Joshua Uley all over that house even if there were no belongings of his left.

As Leah parked the car in the driveway I saw Sam come out of the house to meet us. Sam, ever since I had first met him, had been pretty tall. He towered above me to the point where I didn't even reach his collarbone. The fact that he was also very well built made him look even bigger. Luckily, he was teddy bear on the inside and even tolerated me jumping on his back every time I got annoyed at how tall he was. Sam was wearing a happy grin as we got out of the car but his eyes were really only on my sister.

"Hey Lee-Lee." Sam kissed her gently as he greeted her. Leah smiled contentedly as she tucked herself under his arm. Sam eventually shifted his attention to Seth, who was looking at the ground awkwardly, and me.

"What's up, monsters?"

"Don't worry Sammy-dear, we won't encroach on your couple time. Seth just needs some clothes and I'm going to head to the beach." Sam looked over to Seth, and then back to me.

"You two are really shooting up, hey?" Sam remarked as he critically measured our height with his dark eyes. "Well come on in then, Seth, I have piles of clothes that don't fit me any more." He gestured to his house and then sent a parting warm smile my way before going back inside. Seth beamed and then followed Sam into the house, waving goodbye to me over his shoulder. Leah turned to me once the boys were inside and lowered her voice, her large eyes were hesitant.

"There's going to be a bonfire on the beach tonight," Leah started off slowly. She looked like she was contemplating whether or not to say something. A reluctant sigh escaped her lips and she continued, "Sam and I have a bottle of vodka that we were going to share tonight but I remember the deal I made with you so- if you want, you can have a little bit of it. Only a little though, and it has to be diluted with juice or soda. You can't have a clean shot of it, you got it?" Leah looked stern as she said all of this to me, but I couldn't help the excitement that started to bubble in my stomach.

A few weeks ago Paul and I decided that we wanted to see what the big deal with alcohol was. Paul had gotten hold of half a bottle of whiskey from his house that his dad had seemed to have forgotten about. He brought it over to my house one night when my family was out having dinner with some of their friends, and we decided we were going to try it.

Unfortunately, just as we were about to have our first shots, Leah and Sam walked in. After Leah yelled at the two of us for half an hour she agreed that she wouldn't tell our parents if we didn't try to have alcohol on our own again. It wasn't an empty threat though. Leah had started to take stock of all the alcohol in our house as well as checking Paul's pockets and bags every time he came over. Leah had said that if I was going to have alcohol for the first time, she wanted to be there to keep an eye on me. I think she agreed to this deal in part was because the first time she had had alcohol she was my age too. Unluckily for her, she didn't have an older sibling to talk some sense into her so she was caught by my mom and was grounded for two months.

"Paul can have some too though, right? He was part of the deal after all." I grinned eagerly at my older sister, who just rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but the same rules apply to him. Only a little bit and it has to be diluted. Also, do not tell _anyone_ about this okay? I don't want a whole bunch of random kids asking me for alcohol." I nodded quickly, agreeing to Leah's terms and gave her a tight hug. I felt Leah chuckle a little as she hugged me back.

"I'll see you later then, Leah, tell the boys I say goodbye." I let go of her and then turned around and headed across the road to the beach, a bounce present in my step. It wasn't a long walk, a few minutes at most, but I took my time walking to my destination. I felt a small smile appear at the corners of my mouth as I breathed in the fresh and dewy morning air. The sun was shining brightly, alleviating some of the chill that was in the air, but I still felt goose bumps appear on my arms as I walked across the grass that led down to the beach.

There were only a few people scattered across the beach but I knew that soon more people would be arriving- it was only 11 after all. The sea looked as beautiful as ever. The water was a deep grey colour, broken up only by the white foam that topped each wave. The sand on the shore transitioned into smooth grey stones as it reached the water's edge. The grey of the stones and water blended together peacefully, but as the sunlight reflected off the waves you could also see shades of blues and greens in the water. On the shore there were various sizes of drift wood scattered everywhere. Near a group of black jagged rocks close to the shore, the driftwood had been arranged in a close ring encircling a makeshift hearth. This was usually the place where people came to hang out as well as for making bonfires.

Once I scanned the shore to see if any of my friends had arrived- none of them had - I headed towards the fire site. I sat on the stark white piece of driftwood that faced the ocean. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my skin. While I waited I drifted into a tranquil state of mind, lulled into security by the gentle rhythm of the crashing waves. The wind was whispering around my face, gently stirring the pieces of black hair that escaped my bun.

I was so lost inside my mind that I didn't even hear the tell-tale crunch on the sand that indicated someone was approaching me. It wasn't until I felt warm hand on my shoulder that I snapped back to reality with a startled choke. I opened my eyes and turned towards the amused laughter I heard from behind me.

"What the hell Jess? I almost swallowed my own heart!" I exclaimed when I saw my best friend giggling as she leaned over my shoulder. Jessica had been my best friend ever since the first day of Grade 1 when we sat next to one another. She was the exact opposite of me, which was probably why we were perfect as best friends. While I was outgoing, loud and dramatic Jessica was soft spoken, sweet and sensible. She was the one of the few people who could keep me in line and in turn I brought Jess out of her shell. I like to think I also bring some amusement to her life.

"Sorry Han, I honestly didn't mean to scare you. I thought you heard me approach; it wasn't as if I was walking quietly." Jessica said with an apologetic smile as she sat down beside me, giving me a hug as she did so. I grinned and hugged her back, instantly forgiving her. With her lovable face, and the peaceful aura she seemed to exude, it was impossible to genuinely be angry at her. "So what's the plan for today?" She asked as she looked out to the sea.

Jessica was a stunning girl, she had a rare kind of natural beauty to her. Jessica was quite a bit shorter than me, just passing my chin when we stood next to one another. She had glossy black hair that fell in thick waves around her shoulders and light brown eyes that were framed with dark lashes. Her mouth had a natural uplift in the corners, making it look like she was permanently smiling which suited her cheerful personality.

"Well, besides getting revenge on Paul, I'm pretty much up to anything. Although Leah said there was a bonfire tonight, so I'll probably hang around for that." I told her, tucking some of my stray hair behind my ear. I didn't tell Jess about the alcohol testing that I planned to do later tonight with Paul because she didn't have a disobedient bone in her body. While Paul was my partner in crime, Jess was my more conscientious friend. She was the most well behaved teenage girl I knew, and she never went against her parent's rules. I guess it was a lucky thing that her parents were extremely laid back and the only rules they had was that she couldn't drink, smoke or date until she had graduated high school. Jess obeyed the rules without complaint, unfortunately for all the boys that mooned after her. There was quite a few of them too.

Jess lifted her eyebrow at me and let out a small, amused scoff. She was used to the unusual friendship dynamic between Paul and I. "What did he do this time?"

"He came over last night to watch movies and he brought this really scary one." Jess already began to laugh, knowing where my story was going. "Paul said that this one wasn't bad and that it was actually more action than anything else." I crossed my arms irritably and glared at the ashes in the fire circle in front of me.

"So you had a terrible nightmare, and then couldn't get back to sleep right? Really Han, I thought you would have learnt by now that you can't handle horror movies with that over-active imagination of yours." Jess bumped my shoulder with her own, and chuckled as I nodded in defeat.

"Well I haven't seen him yet, so why don't we go and watch the soccer game until he arrives?" Jess pointed in the distance where a group of figures were running and chasing a ball that was getting kicked across the sand.

"So what did you get up to last night, besides homework of course?" I poked her ribs as we started to walk towards the soccer game. Jess squeaked and jumped out of my reach.

"Well, if you must know, I went to Forks with my parents. We went to the diner there for dinner with some of my dad's colleagues." Jessica's dad, Russell, was a medical technician at the hospital in Forks. Lately there had been a lot of tension from the council for Russell to transfer to a different hospital, which he had adamantly refused to do. Russell had worked there for almost twenty years and he said he enjoyed working there. This made dinners between our two families really awkward because of my dad being part of the council. Jessica and I stayed out of it though, we didn't really get involved with our parents issues.

We carried on chatting together amicably as we reached the side-lines of the soccer game, sitting with a few of the girls from our class. Most of the girls were cheering for their boyfriends, letting out encouraging hoots every time they had the ball. Jess was sitting on my left side chatting to Kayla, one of our friends from school so I turned to the quiet girl sitting on my other side and almost had to shout out my question to be heard over all the cheering.

"So who are you cheering for?" The girl looked surprised that I was speaking to her, and blinked her long lashes at me in shock. I smiled in what I hoped was an encouraging way, and waited for her reply. The girls seemed to realise that she hadn't replied to my question and blushed deeply.

"Um… I'm supporting Jared." The girl said softly, pointing to one of the boys who was running after the ball. The boy looked familiar, I think he was in my English class, although I don't remember ever speaking to him. He was tall with round muscles that were quite noticeable through his black shirt. The boy, Jared, had a mischievous grin on his face as he managed to get possession of the ball from the opposing team. He had a dimple on his right cheek when he grinned. He was pretty cute.

"You go, girl! Is he your boyfriend?" I asked the girl, nudging her conspiratorially. The girl seemed to sputter, and her blush went all the way to her hairline.

"Oh no! He's… I'm not… No!" I felt bad for making the girl so embarrassed and put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything. I just assumed by the way you looked at him… Guess that saying about "assuming" is true hey?" I chuckled weakly, feeling guilty. The girl seemed to relax a little bit and gave a small a smile of her own.

"It's okay; my friends always tease me about it. I guess I should learn how to be more subtle, hey?" I laughed genuinely and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I wouldn't worry about it, boys don't really seem to notice the small stares. Which is good, it makes it easier to check them out." The girl giggled along with me and gestured to the field, asking me who I was supporting.

"Oh I don't actually know yet." I looked at the boys playing the game. I recognised some of them from school but I didn't know them personally. My gaze landed on one boy I did know, and I felt my lips turn up into a grin. I pointed the boy out to the girl sitting next to me. "I'll support him."

The girl looked where I was pointing and let out a whistle of her own. I laughed because I knew what she saw, he was an extremely attractive boy. Even though we wasn't as tall as Jared he was a lot broader. Hard muscles were peeking out of the shirt he was wearing, and his legs were propelling him across the sand at an impressive speed. "Are you dating him?" She asked, turning my own question back at me.

"Quil? Na, we are just friends." The girl raised an eyebrow at me which caused me to laugh. She was fun to be around now that she had relaxed. "I'm Hannah by the way." I stuck out my hand in introduction, even if it was a bit late. The girl placed her small hand in mine, and smiled softly.

"I'm Kim. It's nice to meet you." The two of us continued to chat, as well as cheer for the boys. Although it was me doing all the cheering for both of the boys, Kim was too self-conscience. I didn't mind though, she was quietly suggesting funny things that I should yell. At one stage Jared was close to the side of the "field" where we were sitting and actually heard what I called. Unfortunately, it was a comment about him "working that sexy ass." Jared spun around and looked in our direction, trying to figure out who it was that called out. Kim let out a startled "Eep," and hid behind her other friends, who were laughing loudly. This left me alone, with an obviously guilty look on my face. Jared looked at me, a flirtatious smile spread slowly across his face. He winked at me and then ran off after the ball, making sure to exaggerate the movement of his hips whenever the opportunity presented itself. Every time he did this, he would look back at me with that shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

"Kill me now…" I muttered as I dropped my head into my hands, my cheeks still stained with colour. The girls around me were still giggling and teasing me. Jess laughed too, telling me that he was bound to hear me sooner or later. Kim gave me a guilty pat on the back.

"I'm sorry Hannah," she said quietly, her cheeks were also as red as a coke can. I know she felt guilty for dodging out of the way of Jared's stare as well as the fact that she dared me to call out the comment. I raised my head from my hands and let out a little laugh.

"Don't worry about it, you didn't expect me to actually call it out." Kim nodded and let out a giggle of her own.

"Not at all. Most people wouldn't do it out of fear of the possibility of what just happened." I shrugged and scratched my nose. Although I was embarrassed I couldn't help but laugh. I wasn't someone who was too shy to say what they really thought, so I had been put in this position a few times before.

"I can never resist a dare." We settled back into watching the game; I still called out encouragements but this time I made sure that I kept them all PG.

The game eventually ended with Quil and Jared's team winning. The girls all cheered loudly as the winning team did a victory lap around the designated field, Kim and I joining in. I stood up, dusted the sand from my jeans, and then held out a hand to help Jess up. As Jess dusted herself I looked around the shore, standing on the tips of my toes. There were a lot more people now than there was this morning, and I scanned the crowd to see if Paul had arrived yet. As I was looking around I saw Jared heading my way with Quil following behind him. I immediately dropped down back onto the soles of my feet and turned around, trying to make myself smaller.

"Oh shit!"

Kim and Jess heard my quiet exclamation and turned to look at me with questioning glances. I motioned for them to look behind me and when they did Kim blushed and started to look slightly panicked while Jess just laughed.

"I don't suppose either of you is willing to distract them while I run?" I pleaded hopelessly. Jess shook her head cheerfully, content to see how I handle this. Kim paled, and looked like she would rather be anywhere other than here. I let out a defeated sigh and turned around, determined to get out this with as much dignity as I could.

It wasn't as if I was shy when it came to boys because I wasn't. Not that boys paid me much attention anyways. I was usually instantly friend zoned because I had very attractive friends. Every hopeful guy that wanted to date one of my friends usually came to me, trying to convince me to help them out. I did have a few boys that hit on me in the past, and I usually flirted back. I found flirting fun, even if I wasn't all that good at it. However, this situation was what was making me feel awkward. Jared thought I was hitting on him when it was really Kim- even if it wasn't directly. I didn't think Kim would appreciate me revealing that little fact though, especially considering how she stuttered when I asked if they were dating. I couldn't imagine what she would do if I passed this off on her.

Jared broke through the dispersing crowd, walking like someone who just about owned the world, and came to stop in front of me. He was marginally taller than me but he leaned down slightly to look me straight in the eyes. I cleared my throat, feeling a little awkward with the proximity. With him standing so close, I could see that Jared had deep set brown eyes that had small flecks of gold if you looked close enough. His russet skin looked smooth and had a few freckles, but they were all small and faint. His full lips were stretched into a grin as he noticed my roving eyes.

"I thought I should come and greet my admiring public face to face, but if you would prefer it I could turn around," Jared said with that flirtatious smile he had flashed me earlier. As I tried to think of the best way to handle this 'shituation', a thick arm was slung around my shoulder. I couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh as I saw it was Quil, who was grinning at me with charm only he could muster.

"Oh Hannah Banana, how you have broken my heart! I thought you only yelled out inappropriate things to me and now you've given an ego boost to the wrong man." Quil teased me as he pulled me away from Jared and into a crushing hug. "I'm starting to feel neglected."

I laughed and pulled away from Quil, punching him softly on his muscular arm. "If your ego gets any bigger, Quil, not even all of those muscles of yours will be able to support it."

Jared let out a guffaw while Quil pouted at me with a faux hurt expression. Quil and I became friends when we were assigned to work on a project together during the eighth grade. We got along extremely well, often teasing each other inappropriately and flirting every time we saw one another. Quil also liked hanging around me because that way he got to see Leah. He had had a crush on her since the first time he laid eyes on her, swearing that he was going to save himself for her.

"You just like me for my body, don't you?" Before I could answer Jared tutted at Quil, and sent _that_ grin at me again.

"Obviously not any more… As far as I can remember, it was my ass that was ogled," Jared stepped closer to me again and held out his hand. "I'm Jared, but I don't mind if you call me "Sexy Ass" either."

"Hannah," I said as I put my hand in his. I laughed nervously as he lifted my hand to his still grinning lips and kissed it. I pulled my hand free from his grasp quickly and gestured behind me. "These are my friends Jess and Kim."

Jared sent a smirk over my left shoulder where I assumed Jess was standing, but sent a frown over my other shoulder where I thought Kim was standing. "I didn't know there were ghosts in La Push."

"What are you…?" I trailed off as I turned around and saw that Kim was no longer there. She must have run away when Jared approached. "Oh well, that's awkward," I muttered as I turned around to face Jared again. Quil had latched himself onto Jess, asking if she was allowed to date yet. She laughed good-naturedly, and said no. As the two of them bantered back and forth, I felt eyes on me. I looked back at Jared to see his gaze travel up and down the length of my body. Blood rushed to my face again. Damn, this was awkward. I didn't know how to tell him it wasn't me who was interested in him without sounding like a complete bitch or implicating Kim. Subtlety was never my strong suit.

"So Jared, are you going to play another game?" I asked more for the sake of getting his eyes away from their assessment of my figure than anything else. His eyes met mine again, only now they had a sparkle of _something_ in them that I didn't recognise.

"I might, but only if you're my cheerleader again. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that I got all those _original_ cheers while the other boys just got the classic "Go Babe". "Sexy Ass" just sounds so much better," Jared said jokingly. I snickered quietly, feeling more relaxed now that glint in his eyes had disappeared.

"Do you usually try to win the girls over with your charm and wit? Or is it all of the jokes that you tell?" I teased him as Quil and Jess started to walk to the driftwood circle. Jared and I followed after them. Quil laughed when he heard what I said and called over his shoulder:

"As if Jared has any of those qualities. The only shot he has is if he uses his 'pretty boy' looks to his advantage."

"Oh Quil, you think I'm pretty?" Jared called back in a high pitched voice, clasping his hands together under his chin and fluttering his eyelashes. Jess giggled at the boys' antics as they continued to tease each other as we walked.

As we got closer to the circle of driftwood Jess nudged my shoulder and pointed to off to the left side. There was a couple standing close together near a formation of jagged rocks, obviously on the verge of a full on make out session. At first I wondered why Jess had pointed them out to me, but upon closer inspection I realised that it was actually Paul and some random girl from Forks. Sometimes the locals from Forks would come down to First Beach if the weather was nice, like it was today. Paul usually took this opportunity to flirt with the girls that came along because they didn't know about his ladies' man reputation. I felt an evil grin climb onto my face as I saw the target of my revenge. Quil and Jared looked at me when I let out a low chuckle, as a plan of action was created in my mind.

"Well, that didn't sound evil at all," Quil muttered quietly to Jared, who gave a nervous nod of agreement. Jess smiled at the boys and placed a small hand on Quil's large biceps and pointed in Paul's direction. Jared and Quil looked at the couple and then to me before two different expressions appeared on their faces. Quil's expression was one of understanding. Having known me a few years, Quil knew that Paul and I would often get back at each other in strange ways whenever one of us annoyed the other. Jared's expression was one of complete confusion as well as something else I couldn't pinpoint.

"Is he your boyfriend or something?" Jared asked cautiously, unsure of what was happening. Quil, Jess and I laughed at the question.

"Oh no way, he's just my friend. Well, actually right now he is my target. I lost sleep because of him, and nobody messes with my sleep," I explained to Jared, who looked surprised at the vehemence in my tone. "He is going to feel my wrath."

Quil took pity on Jared's utter confusion and quickly explained the strange friendship Paul and I had. Jess then explained the story of my nightmare to the two boys. Jared had laughed when he heard how I couldn't handle horror movies.

"So then, how are you planning to get your revenge?" Jared asked me as he moved to stand closely behind me, looking at Paul and the girl. I was so focused on my plan that I didn't even feel awkward about the way Jared and I were standing. I just gave another evil chuckle. This was going to be pretty dramatic; it had to be. Paul's plans of revenge against me were always so creative, so I had to make sure to bring my A game.

"Do you guys want to help?" I asked over my shoulder, blinking slightly when I saw how close Jared's face was to mine. I stepped away from him and looked at my possible accomplices as I waited for their replies. Quil readily agreed, followed by Jared and eventually Jess, who was still a bit hesitant. Once I had told them my plan, eager smiles lit each of their faces.

"Alright, let's do this then," I said resolutely and began to walk towards Paul. The couple didn't notice me approach, which made my smirk broaden. When I was a few feet away I decided to start my act.

"Paul!" I yelled angrily as I wrenched him around to face me. The girl let out a startled gasp at my sudden appearance, her blue eyes widening in surprise. Paul on the other hand was only shocked for a few seconds before he realised what was happening. He dropped his head into his hands in defeat and annoyance. Luckily for me, this made him look all the more guilty. I almost smiled, but I managed to school my expression into something that resembled hurt and anger.

"Where were you last night? You were supposed to pick me up for our one year anniversary! And who is this?" I gestured angrily to the girl, who looked absolutely floored at what was happening. I gasped, making my eyes wide. "Are you cheating on me?! You bastard, you said you loved me! I dumped my sugar daddy for you, do you even know how hard that was for me to do? I haven't had a spa day for months!" The girls head snapped towards me, her mouth open in shock. There was a look of revulsion that had started to make its way onto her face, almost as if she knew how messy this was about to get.

"Amelia!" Jared yelled, coming to stand before me looking upset. "What are you doing with this loser? Are you cheating on me?! I thought we were exclusive!" Jared even started to tear up. I had to bite the inside of my cheeks _really hard_ to stop myself from laughing. I had to hand it to Jared. He was really committing to the act. If it was even possible at this stage, the girls eyes widened even further, the colour draining from her beautiful face.

"James, what are you doing here?! I thought you were in Seattle for the weekend!" I tried to look shocked and guilty. Jared grabbed my face in his large hands.

"I came back early! It's okay, I forgive you, Amelia. Let's just leave now, you don't have to worry about this guy any more! He can't satisfy you the way I can, physically, emotionally, financially or sexually! I'm so much better for you!" Jared exclaimed passionately. The girl had slowly begun backing away from us, her hand running nervously through her hair.

Before Jared could throw himself to his knees and start declaring his undying life for "Amelia", which I could see he was about to do, a softer voice bawled.

"James, what are you saying! You said you loved me!" The new voice belonged to Jess, who was pulling off a heartbroken girl pretty damn well. Jared turned around and looked down at Jess.

"Shelley! You said you were going to California for your mother's birthday, I didn't know you were here. Don't worry honey, I can explain," Jared tried to hug her, but Jess was acting too upset to be pacified.

"James?! You're cheating on me too?" I gasped so hard I almost choked on my spit. The three of us started yelling and arguing amongst ourselves. While this was happening the girl had started to look faintly sick, her skin was continuing to pale but the blush in her cheeks just kept getting more intense with every sentence out of our mouths. She looked so overwhelmed by what has happening in front of her. Paul was now watching the three of us with a pissed off expression, but I could see a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Eventually someone else approached, but instead of joining our yelling they went straight to Paul.

"Hey baby, why don't I keep you company. This group seems like way too much drama for such a hunk like yourself. I can tell you'd prefer someone more… physical than these four string beans," Quil said to the shocked Paul, laying on the charm thickly and flexing his muscles. The girl let out a squeak, finally too overcome by the situation and almost _sprinted_ away from five of us. Only when the girl was completely out of sight did the three of us give up our act.

I instantly packed up laughing along with Jared and Quil while Jess giggled, and wiped away her fake tears. It was so over dramatic that I couldn't help but be surprised that the girl bought it. Once I calmed down I turned to Paul, who was still fighting his smile, and winked cheekily at him.

"That was for the nightmares, buddy," I said casually as I lightly bumped Paul's chin with my fist. Paul just looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he left out a quiet chuckle, and relaxed his stance.

"Your plans of revenge are getting stranger and stranger every time," Paul mumbled as he ran his strong hand down his face.

"You seriously have the worst timing ever though, Hannah. Could you have not waited five minutes before re-enacting an episode of Cheaters?" Paul shifted his stance, leaning his elbow on my shoulder and gazing down at me. Like most of the boys in La Push, Paul was pretty tall. He was just under 6 foot but considering he was also still growing, that could change very soon.

"I thought I timed it perfectly actually. If I waited five more minutes you would have been worked up, and then you would have been angry," Paul just laughed at me.

"Oh, I wouldn't have worried about me being "worked up", Hannah. Seeing your face is more effective for me than a cold shower; all my hormones disappear whenever you're near." He slung his arm around my neck and pulled me against him, hugging my scowling face to his chest. Although Paul's words seemed harsh, they didn't have any malice behind them. He usually teased me about the fact that I was completely unattractive to him, but in some strange way that was why he liked me so much. Like I said before, our friendship was weird.

Jared looked completely shocked that Paul had said that to me, his wide eyes darting between the two of us. Jess, although used to how the two of us teased each other, glared at Paul. Quil just laughed and tweaked my nose playfully.

"Don't worry, Hannah Banana, that's only because Paul has no taste. My hormones love your cute little butt. So do Jared's." Paul seemed to notice the three other people standing with us and turned his smug smile to them.

"Hey Jessy, don't scowl. You look a whole lot better with that beautiful smile of yours." Paul teased as he let me go and went to hug Jess. Jess grumbled something under her breath but hugged Paul back anyways. Paul gave Quil a hard punch to his arm, which caused him to let out a pained grunt.

"You asshole," Quil complained as he rubbed his abused arm. "Why don't I get a nice greeting as well?"

"You're "physically capable" remember? I'm sure you can deal with it." Paul said, quoting Quil from earlier. Quil just groused quietly to himself and came to stand next to me.

Paul then turned to Jared, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

"Hey man, I'm Paul," Jared shook Paul's outstretched hand, recovering from his shock over what Paul had said to me.

"I'm Jared," Jared said with a bit of hesitation, obviously unsure of how to react to Paul. I took pity on him, knowing how awkward he must feel right now, and decided to try and get the boys to bond.

"I met Jared this morning, he was playing soccer with Quil. He's pretty good." I said, knowing how much Paul loves playing the game. Jared looked back at me, a grin starting to form. It took me a second to realise that bringing up the soccer game wasn't the best idea. Judging by the sparkle that appeared in Jared's eyes, I was right.

"I'm surprised you saw me play at all," I was already internally cringing at what I knew Jared was about to say but Paul looked at Jared in question. "I thought you were looking at my ass the whole time."

Jess laughed and gently patted my shoulder sympathetically while Quil objected, pointing out how I noticed his ass too. Paul, however, looked surprised that someone was seriously flirting with me. He knew Quil and I joked around all the time but that was usually so over the top that it was obviously fake. I felt heat rise to my cheeks and let out an uncomfortable cough, something that also seemed to shock Paul.

"So are you guys staying for the bonfire tonight?" I asked, attempting to change the subject again. Luckily it worked and the five of us started talking about what we should go and buy from the store. At some stage we had moved to the circle of driftwood, talking to some of the other people who were congregated there. Someone had started the fire using some spare driftwood they had found along the shore. The fire flickered in a beautiful amalgamation of blue and green, casting faint turquoise shadows onto the sand. Due to the lack of space a few people were sitting on the sand next to the driftwood logs, while some sat in front to be closer to the warmth of fire. Although it must have only been about three in the afternoon, a chill had set into the air as the sun disappeared behind the clouds.

The groups sitting by the driftwood circle were extremely diverse, but all seemed to be in a good mood. Laughter and loud conversation could be heard from almost every cluster of friends. Most of the people were older than us, although I did recognise some boys that were friends with Leah and Sam. I sat down on the sand next to Paul, while Jared went to three boys that I assumed were his friends when they waved him over, but not before giving me a parting hug. Quil had seen the girl he was currently crushing on, and went with her to the rock pools. Jess sat next to me and stretched out her hands to the fire in an attempt to warm them up.

"So you were checking out that guy's ass, hey Han?" Paul asked with a nudge as soon as Jared was out of ear shot. "Pretty damn strange, but what was really weird was when he flirted with you and you _blushed_. What the fuck Han? Do you really like this guy or was the first time you felt your hormones go crazy? Do I need to have 'The Talk' with you?"

"Oh shut up Paul," I grumbled as I picked at a stray piece of lint on my jersey. "If you must know, this was just a whole big misunderstanding that I don't know how to fix yet." I then told Paul the entire story of the soccer game, including how Kim became MIA when Jared approached us. Once I had finished telling my story, with Jess's occasional input, Paul just laughed.

"That really is a—what did you call it? A 'shituation'." He patted my knee sympathetically. "I wouldn't just flat out tell the poor guy though, that would be as embarrassing as shit. Maybe just try to casually set him up with this Kim chick. Saves him the embarrassment, you an awkward conversation and the girl gets her dream man. Everyone wins."

I nodded, considering how I could actually get Kim to talk to Jared. Paul broke me out of my reverie though with an amused snicker.

"I still can't believe he was hitting on you though. I mean seriously, Jess was right next to you. Is he blind or something?" Jess, being the overprotective best friend that she was, leaned across me and slapped Paul on the back of his head. If the resounding " _thack!_ " was any indication, I'm pretty sure she hit him damn hard.

"Ow! Dammit woman, what the hell!?" Paul complained rubbing the back of his injured head gently.

"Don't be so rude, Paul! Hannah is beautiful so it makes perfect sense that Jared would flirt with her," Jess scolded Paul while still leaning across my lap. I just laughed though. I wasn't offended by what Paul said, I actually agreed with him. Like I said, I was in the middle of my ugly duckling phase so I wasn't the most attractive girl out there. I took comfort in the fact that it was a phase that I would (hopefully) grow out of. I was very rarely offended by what Paul said because he spoke honestly but without spite. He had no filter, and would call things as he saw them. That, combined with his short temper, often got him into a lot of fights though. It also meant that he didn't lie to someone just to make them feel better about themselves. It was why I valued his opinion so much.

"Relax, Jess, I wasn't offended, in fact I was thinking along the same lines as Paul," I said trying to placate my worked up friend. Jess just frowned at me in response.

"Well, it's no wonder you have such a low view of yourself if you agree with statements like that," she said quietly to me, looking slightly disappointed. I couldn't help but feel shocked though. I thought I had a pretty realistic view of myself, but it seemed like Jess completely disagreed. There was a tense silence between the three of us for a few minutes but eventually Paul broke it by pointing out how all the people from Forks were leaving. As a girl with bright red hair walked passed us, I asked her where everyone was going. Usually the kids that came here would stay until sunset or if it got unbearably cold.

"Oh, it's our prom tonight so we have to go and get ready."

"That must be so exciting, don't you think Hannah?" Jess asked me dreamily as the red headed girl walked away with her friends. I considered the question before answering her.

"I guess," I shrugged non-committedly. It was pretty far in the future, or at least it felt like it to me, so dreaming about it now seemed silly. I wasn't someone who planned out my future a lot, instead enjoying every day as it came. Besides, so much could change in two years.

Boy, was I right.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I admit I'm pleasantly surprised by the response this story has garnered. So thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story, as well as all of those who have followed and favourited. It means a lot. Also, a huge thanks to chris and XxMoonlitShadowxX for their reviews. I appreciate the feedback!**

 **In response to** **XxMoonlitShadowxX's question as to if this is a Paul imprint story... We'll have to see ;) I'm going to try and make this story realistic in regards to the relationships between the characters, so I don't want to commit to a pairing until I know that it actually works. I know who I plan to pair Hannah up with, but because this story is writing itself, it might change down the road.**

 **I also think I should state that I set this story during 2005, when Twilight was written, to keep close to canon. That's why there is a lack of modern day luxuries and how "new songs" in this story are actually about 10 years old...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Paul, Jess and I sat around the fire for a few more hours chatting and laughing amongst ourselves. Eventually though, we all drifted to other groups speaking to some of our other friends. Quil had just come back from his walk to the rock pools with the gorgeous girl he liked. Judging from his self-satisfied smirk and slightly swollen lips he got what Paul didn't—a hectic make out session. At the moment I was sitting with Quil's two best friends, Embry and Jacob.

I've known Jacob since before I was born practically, because our moms were pregnant with us at the same time. Our families have always been close, due to both our fathers being on the council, and typically have dinner together at least once almost every month. Leah had usually hung out with Rachel and Rebecca, Jacob's two older sisters, before they both moved away. This meant that Jacob and I were left to amuse ourselves, being the same age. When Seth was older he would sometimes hang around me and Jacob, although to be fair, he usually stuck to tailing Jacob. Seth thought Jacob was the coolest person to ever walk the earth and looked up to the boy like he was some sort of super hero.

Although we weren't best friends, I liked Jacob a lot, he was a fun guy to be around. His constant grin and endless arsenal of jokes made him great company to keep. Most of the time when our families had dinner Jacob and I would go to his garage for hours, occasionally joined by my little brother, joking around as I watched him tinker with his car. He had tried to teach me how to fix cars and bikes but I was completely hopeless. Jacob had, however, effectively taught me how to ride a dirt bike as well as drive a car. I wasn't the best biker/driver out there but I didn't stall _every time_ I drove so, hey, success! We didn't tell anyone about that, though. We both knew we would be grounded for eternity by our parents if they knew that our weekly "hikes" were actually "spending the day driving up and down the roads by the cliffs".

Embry I knew through association because I was friends with both of his best friends. He was a lot more timid than Quil and Jacob, especially at first, but once he got comfortable around me we got along really well. Embry was one of those quiet jokesters; someone who you don't expect to be funny but actually is pretty damn hilarious. Although we don't ever hang out by ourselves like I do with Jacob and Quil, I still enjoyed speaking with him.

"So Quil, you look like you had a ton of fun," Jacob said slyly as Quil sat next to me, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Oh yeah," Quil chortled and slung his arm around my shoulders. I snickered as I saw the beginning stages of a love bite near the base of Quil's neck.

"I know you're not in the right state of mind to remember but you know that the rock pools is the most cliché place to take a girl to hook up right? In fact, I know some people hide protection under a few of the rocks. You need to try to be more original than that," I teased Quil, who just laughed cheerfully. Jacob and Embry had different expressions of shock on their faces. Quil was definitely the more experienced one in their group being the ladies' man that he was. Although, not specifically in the way I was implying now.

"You didn't… you know?" Jacob asked under his breath, eyeing at Quil with a searching look.

"Of course not Jake, I just had a great make out session with a beautiful lady," Quil smirked and let out a proud sigh.

"Yeah, I can see that very clearly," I laughed, eyeing the hickey again. Jacob and Embry followed my line of sight, and both cracked up.

"Dude, your mom is going to kill you," Jacob grinned, pointing to Quil's neck when he looked confused as to why we were all snickering about. Quil finally caught on to why we were laughing and paled slightly.

"I have a hickey? Where is it?" Quil asked me, a tone of panic in his voice. I gently touched the purpling spot with my index finger.

"You could hide it if you wear something with a collar or you could just wear a scarf," I said, trying really hard not to start laughing again. Quil grumbled a bit to himself then grabbed my hand, and tried to lay it over the love bite.

"Eww Quil, no! Some chick's mouth was there a few minutes ago, I don't want to touch it!" I exclaimed and tried to pull my hand away from his grasp.

"But your hand is so cold! Doesn't putting ice on it help?" Quil asked nobody in particular as he continued to struggle with me for possession of my hand. The other two boys were chuckling at their friends' antics.

"I don't know, but I still don't want to touch it." I finally manage to wrestle my hand away from Quil's grasp and put both my hands in between my knees. Quil sighed in defeat and then shrugged.

"Fine, but if my mom sees it I'm going to tell her it was you."

"Do it. It's not as if she'll believe you anyways, Joy loves me." I taunted my friend, a smug smirk present on my face as I did so. Quil just returned it with a smug smirk of his own.

"That might just be why she'll believe me, wishful thinking and all that jazz." My smirk transformed into a scowl, knowing that what he said was maybe a possibility. I was about to reply to Quil when I saw my dad searching the shore for someone. I frowned, wondering who he was looking for, but waved anyway knowing that it might be me. My dad saw me, as well as Quil, Embry and Jacob, and started to approach us. Quil saw my dad and quietly muttered to me under his breath.

"Are you in trouble, Hannah Banana?" I shrugged in response.

"Not that I know of."

When my dad was in ear shot all three of the boys greeted him respectfully, he was on the council after all. My dad told them not to be so formal and smiled in greeting to them, before turning to me and Jacob.

"Sorry to bug you, kids, I know there's a bon fire tonight, but I just need to borrow to Jacob and Hannah for a few hours. Leah will bring them back later tonight." My dad said in his deep, almost baritone voice. A voice that sounded as if it was made for telling stories, which luckily, my dad did all the time.

"Uh, sure Harry," Jacob said a bit hesitantly, glancing at me with a question in his dark eyes. I stood up along with Jacob and followed my dad towards the parking lot of the beach, both of us saying goodbye to Quil and Embry as we did so. As I passed Jess and Paul they both sent me questioning glances, to which I could only shrug.

"I don't know," I mouthed quietly to them and then turned to Jacob who was walking beside me.

"Any idea what's happening?" I whispered up to Jacob. He shook his head, causing his long hair to flutter around his handsome face. Jacob reached up and then secured it with a band at the base of his neck, inadvertently flexing his biceps as he did so. I wasn't sure why, but recently quite a few of the boys in La Push had really started to bulk up. It made me wonder if it was a trend, or if they all secretly trained together in some sort of boot camp.

"No, but I have a feeling that this isn't going to be fun," Jacob muttered back to me and I couldn't help but agree with him.

We reached my dad's car and I called shotgun, trying to ignore the dread I felt in my stomach. The drive was pretty silent except for the radio that played softly in the background. It was a new Jennifer Lopez song, _Get Right,_ I think it was called. I hummed along quietly, causing Harry to turn to me and smile. It was a habit I had picked up from my mom, humming or singing to when I felt nervous, although I denied it every time my dad brought it up.

"Relax Hannah, you two aren't in trouble. Billy and I just want to talk to you about something, maybe ask you a favour, but we're not grounding the two of you if that's what you are worried about," my dad said reassuringly. I heard Jacob let out a relived sigh from the backseat. Even though I felt slightly better, I was still worried. It wasn't every day that Billy and my dad asked to speak to me and Jacob privately. In the back of my mind I wondered if they had found out the truth about our hikes.

Great. Now I felt even more nervous.

Before I could start coming up with possible scenarios of how we would be punished, we pulled up to Jacob's house. The familiar sight of the red walls of the Black's house helped me calm down slightly, as well as the presence of Leah's car.

"Leah's here too?" I asked my dad as the car came to a stop and I unbuckled my seatbelt. Harry nodded and put a hand on my shoulder in a gesture of affection as we walked into the house, Jacob following us silently. As we approached the cosy lounge, where I assumed everyone was gathered, I heard voices. Specifically the voices of my sister, Billy and Sam.

"… soon. I just want to—Ah! There they are," Billy broke off what he was saying as we entered the room. "I was just talking about you." Billy was in his wheelchair next to the couch where Leah and Sam were sitting. I went over to Billy and bent down to give him a big hug in greeting, which he returned. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Billy and Jacob. Ever since Rebecca and Rachel moved away, as well as Sarah's death, there wasn't a female presence in the house. Although Billy and Jacob got by quite well, they didn't take nearly enough care of themselves as they should. It showed most notably in the state of the house.

The house was clean but it was the small things that alerted me to how they weren't looking after themselves. Like how there never seemed to be enough food in the cupboards, and how some of the food that was there had expired. There was also never enough cutlery and crockery which sometimes led Jacob and Billy to eat straight out of the food containers. There was almost always a pile of clothes waiting to be washed while some clothes that had been washed were damaged. Whether it was because of not washing them in the right way or not separating the clothes correctly according to colours. It made my heart break a little bit each time I noticed these things.

"Hello Hannah, it's good to see you again," Billy said to me kindly as I sat down next to Leah, Jacob sitting next to me on the armrest of the couch. My dad sat down opposite us on the small, plaid arm chair and looked at Billy.

"So what did you want to talk to us about, Dad?" Jacob asked after a minute of silence. He was nervously playing with a loose thread on his hoodie's sleeve. Billy let out a reluctant sigh but eventually spoke.

"I need all of you to do a favour for us." Billy started off slowly. He continued as he saw the four of us lean forward expectantly. Billy turned to me and Jacob then.

"Jacob, Hannah, you remember Bella Swan don't you? Charlie's daughter?" Jacob nodded quickly and I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face at his enthusiastic response.

Jacob had the biggest crush on Bella, especially after that one day she came down to First Beach with her friends. I had been on the beach that day with Jessica, Paul and Sam that day and had seen how Jacob kept looking at the brunette. She was quite pretty, in an unassuming kind of way. She had curly brown hair, eyes that were almost the colour of hot chocolate and a heart-shaped face. Bella was also extremely pale, making the colour of her hair and eyes all the more striking.

I hadn't been surprised that she didn't recognise me on the beach; it had been years since I last saw her. I remembered her vaguely from my childhood when Charlie had brought her over, but she was exceptionally shy and didn't really speak to me. Bella, even though she didn't remember Jacob, had a long conversation with him that day and had even flirted with him causing him to become even more enamoured with her.

"Kind of, although I haven't spoken to her," I admitted with a shrug. Billy nodded his head, and then continued.

"Tonight is her prom, and I need you to go and tell her something. A… message, if you will." Billy said to Jacob but his eyes travelled to meet mine, obviously including me in this plan of his. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

"You want us to go to her prom to… ask her something?" I questioned hesitantly, glancing between my dad and Billy. Billy nodded in confirmation, unaffected by my confusion.

"This is a joke right?" I asked in astonishment. "You can't seriously be asking us this."

Billy and my dad looked at me with almost identical stern expressions. I shook my head at their silent urging.

"No ways! This is just way too weird dad, I'm sorry."

"This is seriously important Hannah." My dad said softly. "It might be a strange request, but it is imperative that Bella hears this message. Normally, I wouldn't ask you two to do this but these circumstances are anything but normal."

I looked at my dad, scrutinising his expression. He looked more serious than I had ever seen him. I let out a sigh and ran my hands over my face.

"But you want us to crash to her prom, just to tell her something? Can't we tell her another day? Or phone her?" I asked both Billy and my dad. "Besides, Bella doesn't know me so wouldn't be better if Jacob just spoke to her alone?"

Jacob seemed to be taken off guard by the request as well, but he also seemed slightly panicked at the prospect of going to Bella's prom.

"It has to be tonight. The prom is going to be filled with many people, which will make it safer for you two to approach her. That is also why two people are required to do this. You two are also the only ones who knew Bella, besides Leah and the twins. For obvious reasons, the twins can't go and Leah and Sam would stand out too much," Billy stated firmly. I silently agreed with him about Leah and Sam standing out. Between Leah's beauty and Sam's height, they were an eye-catching couple. Pair that with the fact that they both looked to be in their early twenties (despite still both being teenagers), they would stand out. After a small pause he added: "I also don't want Charlie to hear the message."

"Safer? What do you mean safer?" Jacob asked, his eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. Billy and my dad shared a look before answering Jacob.

"I cannot tell you that yet, son, but I need you trust me about this. It is extremely important that Bella hears this message."

Jacob did not seem satisfied with the answer and shook his head adamantly.

"No ways am I going to Bella's prom just to give her a message, especially when I don't even know why it's so important," Billy just sighed at his son's answer, as if he expected this reaction from his son.

"If you do this, I will pay you, as well as get you the last part you need for your car," I blinked in surprise at Billy, especially when I noticed that he was completely serious. Jacob's mouth fell open, but after a few moments he closed his mouth and cleared his throat.

"As much as I want to say yes, I won't. I'm sorry dad." Jacob looked down at his hands. I pursed my lips with a frown. I knew how badly he wanted to finish his VW Rabbit, so it really showed how much he liked her for him to turn this offer down. Billy and my dad spent the next few minutes arguing, persuading, convincing and _pleading_ Jacob to go.

"Fine. What do you want me to tell her?" Jacob eventually conceded reluctantly, hanging his head.

"Thank you, son," Billy said sincerely. "I need you tell her to please break up with that Cullen boy. He is not good company for her to keep. If she refuses, you must warn her that we'll be watching her, as well as the Cullen family. For her own safety as well as our own." As Billy had said this Jacobs head had snapped up so quickly I was shocked he didn't get whiplash.

"There is _no way_ I'm going to tell her that, Dad!" Jacob exclaimed, his loud voice making me jump. Jacob and Billy started to argue with each other again, each of them not willing to change their opinion. Leah, Sam and I shifted awkwardly on the couch while my dad watched with passive eyes. Ultimately Billy won the argument, bringing silence to the house once more.

"Jacob, Bella was severely injured when she was in Phoenix, and there is no doubt in my mind that the Cullen boy was responsible for it. He is not healthy for her, although she cannot see it, I need her to know it. Bella deserves someone better for her than that boy. This is for her own wellbeing son." Jacob must have seen the severity of his dad's expression because after a pause, in which he scrutinised his dad's face, he relented.

"Alright, I'll do it," Jacob looked completely defeated, his shoulders were slumped and his head dropped into his hands. Feeling bad for my friend, I squeezed his knee reassuringly. I would have patted his shoulder, but there was no way I could reach it sitting the way that we were. Jacob looked down at me, his dark eyes shining with mixed emotions. I could see reluctance, confusion and sadness. I felt my face crumple in pity for him. He really didn't want to do this.

"Sam and Leah, I am sorry to ask this, but will you please drive him there?" Billy asked the couple that has been sitting in silence next to me. Sam smiled slightly and nodded, but only after he checked with Leah.

"Of course Billy, it's no trouble," Billy thanked them both genuinely and then turned to me.

"Hannah, I know you don't really know Bella, but I would feel a lot better if you went with Jacob. You could watch each other's back that way. It will also help Jacob to sneak in if he had a date." Before I could reply Jacob quietly mumbled to me, he said it so quietly that nobody else heard what he said.

"Please come with me, Han." His voice was pleading, that there was no possible way for me to say no without feeling like a terrible person. I sighed and nodded my head.

"When do we leave then?" Billy looked grateful, and then turned to the clock that was hanging on the wall.

"As soon as possible would be best I think," Billy said, after looking at my dad for conformation. Jacob nodded then got off the couch and headed towards the door.

"Let's get this over then." He mumbled as he walked.

"Jacob there is no way we can walk into a prom wearing jeans. We're going to stand out enough as it is, wearing casual clothes would just make it worse." I called after him as I stood up.

"Hannah is right, Jacob. You both need to change. Hannah I'm sure there's something in the twins' room that you can borrow." Billy said and pointed towards Rebecca and Rachel's old room. I nodded and walked to the girls' room, Leah tailing after me, while Billy told Jacob what to wear.

Going into Rachel and Rebecca's rooms felt slightly awkward. The room just felt so unlived in that I felt like I was trespassing. Even though there was still some posters and photos hanging on the light purple walls and ornaments on the shelves, there was just an aura of emptiness. A light coat of dust covered the dressers and it looked like the twin beds hadn't been moved since the girls moved out. I hovered by the door for a few moments before I entered the room with Leah who closed the door behind us.

"Look in Rachel's side of the closet, she was the one that had all the dresses." Leah told me and she looked through the drawers of the dressers. Leah had actually been pretty close with the twins, and had slept over in this room a few times, so she knew where the twins used to keep things.

I nodded and then looked at the side of the closet that had the more feminine clothes in it. Rebecca had followed in Sarah's footsteps and was extremely artistic, painting almost every day. This meant that most of her clothes had splotches of paint on them, even her formal clothes.

I looked through Rachel's clothes for a while before I found a dress that could do the job. I took the hanger out of the closet and turned to face Leah, holding the dress out in front of me.

"How about this one?" I asked my sister who had managed to find some makeup in the drawers, and was currently eyeing a bottle of what I assumed was perfume. Leah raised her eyes, and looked at the dark green dress I was holding. I honestly like the dress a lot. It had a boat neck neckline, so it wasn't too revealing, and was cinched in at the waist by a black lace belt. It was deep emerald green colour, and was made from a smooth material that shimmered slightly in the light. Leah smiled faintly as she looked at the dress.

"Rachel wore that to her prom. She looked amazing in it," Leah said, her eyes slightly glazed with the memory. I lowered the dress, a frown on my face. I couldn't actually wear a prom dress considering we were literally only going to be there for a few minutes. I reluctantly put the dress back in the closet, telling Leah why I couldn't wear it when she protested.

I eventually found another dress that was a lot more suitable. It was simple but beautiful. It was made from a black satin, and looked like it would hang just above the knees. It was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline. When I showed Leah she nodded, telling me to put it on while she looked for shoes and something to wear over it to keep the chill away. I quickly stripped down and put on the dress, trying to be careful so I didn't damage the dress. Once I had managed to zip up the dress I sat down at the dresser and waited for Leah. I was extremely helpless with makeup, so there was no way I was even to attempt to put it on myself.

"Okay!" Leah exclaimed and she stood up and turned around, holding a pair of black heels and a beautiful dark blue coat. "Let's get your make up down quickly and then we can go." Leah dumped the shoes and coat on one of the beds and then came to stand in front of me. I closed my eyes as my sister got to work on my makeup and I zoned out as she did so, occasionally following the instructions she gave me. When she was done, Leah quickly fixed my messy bun, taming the pieces of hair that were sticking up in different directions. The whole process only took about fifteen minutes, and soon she announced I was ready. I opened my eyes and stood up, turning to look at myself in the mirror and blinked in shock.

"So what do you think?" Leah asked me as she put the make up back in the drawers and then quickly sprayed perfume lightly on my neck.

"I look like an actual girl." I said in utter surprise. Leah hadn't put a lot of make up one me, only a bit of foundation, eyeliner and mascara, but it made a huge difference. My skin looked clearer, my lashes looked long and fluttered every time I blinked. The eyeliner made my eyes look bold and striking. For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel awkward or unattractive. It was quite a nice feeling. Leah laughed at me reaction.

"Well that's because you are. I think you look amazing, Han," Leah said, an odd affectionate gleam in her eyes. I smiled back but I felt a blush spread on my cheeks at her compliment. I quickly pulled on the shoes and slung the jacket on my arm while Leah picked up the clothes I had been wearing. I let out one last sigh and then walked with Leah back to the lounge. I just thanked my lucky stars that I could walk in heels, as well as being pretty steady footed, otherwise tonight would be horrible. All those days of secretly borrowing Leah's heals when I was younger had finally paid off.

"Okay let's go!" Leah called to the men as she continued to walk straight the front door, not even pausing. I knew she was doing it for my sake, knowing how much I hated the awkward compliment session that happens every time people dress up. I followed after her being as nonchalant as I could, waving goodbye to my dad over my shoulder. He seemed to want to say something, probably about taking pictures, but I kept walking. This wasn't a proper prom for us, so I didn't want my dad to treat it like one. Jacob seemed to feel the same way as he stepped away from his dad who was fussing over the tie Jacob was wearing, and fell into step with me.

"You almost as tall as me now," Jacob commented as we walked to the car. The sun had just started to set, casting an orange-yellow haze in the garden and shining brightly through the surrounding forest. Sam was walking behind us, reassuring Billy and Harry that he would watch over us. I glanced at him, surprised to find he was right. The five inch heels I was wearing put me at 6 feet tall, only two inches shorter than Jacob.

"It's so weird!" I agreed as he opened the door to the backseat, and gestured for me to climb in. I smiled gratefully and stepped towards the backseat, but paused before I climbed in. I looked at Jacob, who was standing opposite me, on the other side of the car door still holding it open for me. "I can actually look you in the eyes now instead of just staring at your chin."

I waggled my eyebrows for effect and then hopped into the car, Jacob laughing weakly as he slipped in next to me.

"I really don't want to do this." Jacob whispered to me as the four of us drove, in relative silence, to Forks High School. Sam and Leah were talking to each other in the front, too absorbed in their own conversation to hear us murmuring quietly to one another.

"I can only imagine." I whispered back sympathetically, and placed a comforting hand on Jacobs shoulder. "I think you should just tell her that Billy sent you to talk to her, so she knows that this wasn't your idea. From what you've told me about her Bella seems pretty reasonable, so I'm sure she'll understand." I smiled reassuringly at him and took my hand from his shoulder, folding it in my lap. "On the bright side though, you get to see her all dolled up. Heck, maybe you'll even be able to dance with her."

"I guess so." Jacob answered with a small smile of his own.

We were quiet for the rest of the drive, the two of us wondering how this night was going to pan out. I looked out the window, watching as the scenery changed as we entered Forks. The setting sun cast a dramatic backlight to all the trees, plants and houses we drove past. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. This was my favourite time of the day. Even though a lot of people consider sunsets to be an end or a finale to many things, metaphoric and literal, but to me it was a beginning. A beginning of the night, the time where nature rests and when an aura of peace of settles over the land. It was a more subtle, gentle beauty. It also seemed to have a new type of spirit, something more wild and untamed. Something that called to me in a way I couldn't explain accurately, it was completely indescribable.

"Alright you two, remember to be quick and watch each other's backs. Especially around the Cullens." Sam told us sternly as he pulled up to the high school, being careful of all the couples in formal dress greeting their friends in the parking lot. "If you have any problems just remember we'll be outside."

I saw Jacob nod distractedly and quietly get out the car. After a sigh, and a small smile to Leah and Sam, I followed him and smoothed out my dress as I looked around the parking lot. I couldn't help but snort at the difference at our expressions compared to all the Forks High students. Everyone I saw looked excited, bright smiles lighting their faces, whether it was the parents or the teenagers taking pictures with their dates. Jacob had a beaten and uncomfortable frown on his face, his shoulders slumped in defeat. I'm pretty sure that my expression was one of resignation because I really just wanted this to be over, more for Jacobs's sake than mine.

"Alright, let's get this over with then." I muttered to my sullen friend. I started to walk in the direction when all the couples were heading but a hand on my elbow stopped me.

"Can we just wait for a bit, maybe go sit somewhere?" Jacob asked me quietly. Looking over my shoulder I could see Jacob looked pale and like he wished the ground would swallow him up. Pity plucked on my heartstrings like a bass guitar, playing a terribly depressing song. I nodded my head and started to walk towards a bench that was beside the entrance to the school, Jacob following me quietly. Jacob sat down and immediately dropped his head into his hands.

"Jacob, it's going to be fine. Bella won't be angry with you, if anything I'm sure she will be happy to see you again." I reassured him quietly as I stood in front of him, trying to shield him from all the curious glances we were getting form the Forks students. Not that I could blame them though, it wasn't often that Quileute's crashed the Forks prom.

"I know, I know just… give me a minute." Came the quiet reply. I shifted in my high heels and adjusted my dress again. Even though I wasn't the one who would tell Bella the foreboding warning, as I'm sure Jacob would prefer to speak to her himself, I still felt nervous and jumpy. There was an unwelcome sensation beneath my skin the closer I got to the school, almost as if there were a thousand ants were crawling up and down my muscles. After a few minutes Jacob stood up and nervously adjusted his tie before nodding to me.

"I'm ready."

"Okay then, let's crash this prom." I teased him half-heartedly, pushing back my own uneasiness and walked beside Jacob towards the gym where the prom was being held. As we got closer I saw something that made me curse quietly under my breath. When Jacob glanced over to me questioningly I gestured to the ticket booth.

"I didn't bring any money, did you?" Jacob shook his head, hissing out a curse of his own. At least if we had money we could give it to some other students to buy our tickets for us. I doubt Leah or Sam had any money on them either, except the stash of emergency gas money that was completely off limits. Sam managed to get stranded halfway to Seattle for four hours about a year ago with no money for gas. It didn't help that he hadn't actually told anyone where he was going, as well as the fact that it was quite late so there wasn't a lot of people around at the time. Since then Sam always kept a stash of money in the car that he didn't allow anyone to touch, no matter the situation.

"How are we supposed to get inside now? Maybe we should just leave Hannah." Jacob said hopefully.

"No ways, we didn't get come all this way to chicken out now. We are going to do this Jacob, and then get the hell out of here!" I hissed at him determinedly. "This place is giving me the creeps." I added silently under my breath but judging how Jacob's eyebrows drew together in a frown, I'm assuming he heard me.

I looked around the decorated hall for a moment, trying to think of a way to get us both in undetected. It looked like the theme for the prom was Monte Carlo or something of the like. There was large arcs of balloons and fairy lights intertwined hung along the ceiling casting interesting shadows across the floors. Different types of gambling memorabilia decorated the walls, some of the teenagers were standing in front of them taking pictures. I won't lie, it looked amazing.

I listened to the sounds of happy chatter and the upbeat song that the DJ was playing as I thought about how to sneak in. After a few moments inspiration struck me. I grinned at Jacob and whispered almost inaudibly to him.

"Follow my lead and be confident." When he muttered back his agreement I grabbed his large hand in mine and pulled him close to me, tucking my arm into the crook of Jacobs elbow. I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled up at him as we started to walk, following closely behind a large group of students that had just walked through the door. Jacob looked shocked for a second, but an elbow in his ribs reminded him to act as if this was completely normal. A slightly fake smile then appeared on his face.

"So this is what Quil has to do every time you include him in your improvised plans for revenge?" Jacob asked me as casually as he could. I giggled as if he said something funny, not taking my eyes off him.

"Yes of course! Acting is just a skill you need to learn as my friend. You never know when a situation like this will pop up." I said in a falsely sweet voice as we walked with the group to the ticket booth. The group didn't seem to notice us walking with them, all of them so absorbed in their excitement of prom. I think it also helped that all the teenagers looked so different to how they normally dressed, the fancy clothes, hairstyles and makeup making them almost unrecognisable to one another. Jacob and I could blend in if we pretended as if we were meant to be here, especially now that the softer lights in the gym helped to disguise our distinct Quileute appearances.

I could feel Jacob tense up as we approached the booth. The group of kids in front of us started to crowd around the ticket booth, each person eager to get into the prom. I saw the window of opportunity and pulled Jacob into the blind spot of the officials.

"Be ready and please don't fall!" I whispered to Jacob out of the corner of my mouth. Before he could ask what he should be ready for I quickly slipped into the crowded dance floor, towing Jacob with me. I quickly span around and put my one hand on his shoulder while I placed my other hand in his so we blended into the all the other dancing couples around us. When Jacob caught up to my actions he replaced his surprised expression with his fake smile and started to twirl us around to the music as if we had been here for a while.

For the rest of the song the two of us were tense as we looked around the gym conspicuously, trying to see if anyone noticed our sudden entrance. Luckily everyone seemed too absorbed in enjoying their prom, leaving us completely overlooked.

Once the next song started to play the two of us visibly sagged in utter relief.

"Holy shit! I honestly didn't think that would work." I chuckled, relief making me slightly breathless. Jacob let out a short laugh as well and nodded in agreement.

"Let's not do something like that again." He muttered but there was a smile on his face. "Well, at least not for a few years, I think the stress has aged me." Jacob teased me as we continued to dance to slow, sappy song that was playing. All around us couples were staring lovingly into one another's eyes, kissing or whispering tenderly to each other. I suddenly felt extremely awkward and stepped away from Jacob, clearing my throat. Don't get me wrong, I liked Jacob, but _not_ in a romantic way. We had grown up together and cared deeply for one another, but it was more in a familial way. Once you have seen someone take a dump in the bathtub, _you were sharing_ while you were still _inside_ it _,_ you kind of lose any romantic feelings you had towards them. Permanently. Even if those feelings hadn't been developed yet. Sure, we had been three at the time but that shit stays with you, no pun intended. Besides, no girl could hold a candle to Bella in Jacobs mind.

"So it's time to accomplish the mission." I said as I looked around the dance floor, trying to see if I could find Bella. I heard Jacob breath in sharply.

"There she is." He mumbled as if a trance and pointed towards a couple dancing closely to one another. "She looks beautiful." Jacob deliberately ignored the man that Bella whose arms was dancing in at the moment. I, however, could do no such thing.

When I looked at the couple I couldn't help it when my breath caught in my throat. The man Bella was dancing with, as well as the two couples dancing closest to them, were ridiculously attractive. Like fucking beautiful. It was if the five of them stepped out of the pages of a high end magazine. Flawless pale skin, perfect hair, stunning figure and faultless facial features.

They made me want to _vomit_.

Their perfection was so off putting and inhumane. I wanted to run away from them but at the same time I wanted to punch their faces. I was terrified of them as well as my reaction towards them.

"I'm going to go talk to talk to her, are you going to come with?" Jacob nudged me, as I continued to war with my irrational feelings towards the Cullen's.

"No, you go Jake. I'll watch your back." I replied distractedly as I watched the porcelain dolls dance. I could understand why Billy and my dad didn't want Jake to go alone. There was an odd feeling of trepidation in my gut just being in the same room as the Cullen's. At the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder if the legends my dad used to tell me about the family being the cold ones were true, because looking at them now I could believe it. Jacob nodded and approached the couple -who were now looking at the two of us- uncomfortably.

I could see Bella looking at me in confusion, probably wondering who the heck I was, before her gaze locked with Jacobs. The Cullen who was holding Bella protectively must have done something wrong because she said something to him sternly before turning back to look at Jacob. I could see from where I was standing, on the outskirts of the dance floor near the wall of the gym, that Jacob looked painfully awkward. The couple spoke to Jacob (although to be fair it was mostly Bella) before the Cullen released his hold on his girlfriend and stepped away. Jacob in turn, gently pulled Bella into his arms and the two started to talk as they "danced". With the cast on Bella's ankle being the obstacle that it was, it wasn't much of a dance as it was them swaying in the same place.

If the Cullen's really were the 'cold ones' from our legends, it would mean they were blood suckers. As well as really old. And undead. Does that mean that Bella's Cullen was a paedophile, or that Bella was a necrophiliac?

On second thought, I didn't want to know.

I watched the Cullen's dancing around Bella and Jacob carefully, not knowing what I would even do if one of them decided to… do something. Whatever that would be.

Maybe hiss at him?

Show their teeth?

Make "bleh" sounds at him?

Straight up bite him?

To be honest, I didn't know a lot of vampire "facts". The concept always seemed so strange that I never watched vampire movies or read books with them. Wish I had now though.

"Hello. My name is Edward Cullen." A smooth voice startled me out of my internal musings. My heart felt as if it dropped out of my ass as my eyes met the startling gold eyes of Bella's possibly undead boyfriend. I tried to smile but I think it probably looked more like a grimace than anything else. That feverish feeling I had earlier seemed to take over my entire body as the Cullen stood next to me, also watching the dancing couple as the spoke to one another. It made me feel so jumpy and skittish.

"I'm Hannah Clearwater." I replied uncomfortably and shook the freezing cold hand that was offered to me. Edward turned and smiled at me, but it wasn't much better than mine. His smile looked strained, almost as if he was physically keeping himself away from Bella so Jacob to talk to her. Or like he was constipated. Maybe both.

I didn't know how to interpret his expressions because his general good looks were distracting me.

"Are you Jacob's girlfriend?" He asked me after a few minutes of silence with an actual smile this time, as if something amused him. Probably the thought that Jacob would date someone like me. His amused smile turned into a frown, his head full of shining copper hair cocked to the side in confusion. I wondered what he was so puzzled until I realized I hadn't answered his question.

"No, we are just family friends. I'm his designated bodyguard for the night." I clamped my mouth shut when I realized what I said, my teeth clicking together. "Not that he would need one of course! This place is perfectly safe, no murderers or anything! Uhh… it's because he's actually pretty clumsy. Yes! Falls down if the wind blows too hard, which is pretty weird since he's so big… and tall… but I'm sure you know how clumsy people are, being with Bella and all. Not that I'm implying that she's graceless or anything…" I rambled nervously. Dammit Hannah! Think before you speak! "Please just forget this conversation ever happened." I muttered quietly looking down at my feet.

I blushed deeply as I saw how the Cullen was laughing softly at me. Freaking amazing. Today seriously sucked. Vaguely, I wondered if I could still blame this on Paul.

"It was nice meeting you Hannah." Edward said, still highly amused, as he started to head back to his girlfriend who was still talking to Jacob. I just nodded, my smile-that-looks-like-a-grimace back on my face.

Damn, that was so awkward.

I couldn't help but feel relieved as Edward got further and further away from me, the antsy feeling seemed to retreat as he did. Now, it was a dull tinge all over my body instead of the sharp burning it was earlier.

I watched as Edward stopped behind Jacob and said something that caused Jacob to flinch and turn to face him. Words were exchanged, albeit tersely, and then Jacob starting to walk in my direction waving goodbye to Bella as he did so. Bella smiled at him and then looked over to me. She waved shyly at me, a small smile on her beautiful face. I sent a slight grin back at her, feeling somewhat more partial to her, and gave her a two finger salute before turning to the solemn Jacob who reached my side.

"Want to go or see if the punch is spiked first?" I asked in what I hoped was my usual teasing voice. To be honest I really just wanted to leave as soon as possible, still feeling on edge, but Jacob looked like he seriously needed to be cheered up.

"No, let's just go." Jacob said, his eyes downcast and miserable. Poor Jake. I tucked my arm into his under the guise of our act but I actually did it to try and offer some form of comfort to my friend. I led him through the doors, where we still avoided the officials, and back outside. As we stepped out the doors to the exit of the school, I saw Jacob relax. His tense muscles seemed to lose their rigidity as we stepped away from the hall. The night air was slightly icy but it felt refreshing, especially after being in that stuffy gym with the porcelain dolls. The wind blew against me and Jacob in gentle caresses, as if it was welcoming us back after a long absence. The thought brought a smile to my face. I looked at Jacob and I could see that he obviously felt the same way, the despair that previously lit his expression had lifted slightly leaving a more peaceful look on his face.

When we approached Leah's car I saw Sam sitting on the bonnet without his jacket and his head in his hands. Leah was standing next to him, whispering to him gently, and looking extremely worried as she rubbed his back. As we got closer I realized how pale he looked and that there was a sheen of sweat covering his skin. Sam was also panting as if he had run a marathon, but trembled with every breath he took. It honestly looked as if his body was at war with itself.

He looked horrible.

"Sam? What's wrong?" I asked when we were within earshot. Jacob looked at the older man in worry as we stopped in front of Sam and Leah.

"He's got a fever or something." Leah replied, her voice strained with worry for her boyfriend. "It started not long after you two left." She continued to rub soothingly across Sam's back. Sam didn't say anything, panting and wheezing as he tried to calm himself down.

"Jacob spoke to Bella, so we can go now." I said, biting the inside of my cheek in concern. Sam never got sick. In all the time I knew him, which was a couple of years, he was always as healthy as humanly possible. "Sick Sam" was not something I thought I would ever see. I didn't like it at all, and looking at Leah and Jacob, it seemed that they didn't either.

Leah nodded, and started to coax Sam off the bumper of the car. Once he climbed in the front seat we opened the windows while Leah put on the air con. As we drove back to La Push I could see Leah continuously send worried glances over to Sam, who was resting his head on the cool glass of the window. She was driving pretty fast, eager to get Sam back to see our mom as she was a nurse.

"I'm sorry Lee-Lee." I heard Sam muttered quietly to my sister. Leah let out a watery laugh as she continued to speed home.

"You don't have to apologise for being sick Sam, it's not your fault. Just relax, we're almost there." My sister said almost as silently.

Nobody else spoke for the rest of the journey, all of us eager to get home. By the time Leah finally pulled up to our house Sam's shaking had increased, and his wheezing pants were more haggard. Leah quickly ushered Sam into our house, calling for our mom as she did so. Jacob and I tailed after them, unsure of what to do.

When my mom came into the living room and saw Sam on the couch, she went straight to the built-in cupboard in the hallway to get her medical supplies. It didn't take long for my mom to help Sam, giving him a couple of pills to take and a large glass of water to drink.

"It seems Sam has a fever, I've given him some Tylenol which should make him feel more comfortable and lower his temperature. It should go down eventually, so no more of this stressing Leah. He will be fine." My mom told Leah with a comforting pat to her cheek. She then told Leah to take him home so he could rest. Leah looked marginally better knowing that Sam would get better, kissing my mom on the cheek to say thanks.

"Thank you mom." Leah whispered again as she hugged our mom tightly. Sue gave her a warm smile as she pulled away from the hug.

"You're welcome sweetheart. Make sure you drink lots of water Sam so you stay hydrated." My mom informed the exhausted looking Sam that was sitting shakily on the couch, who just nodded. She turned to my older sister again. "Now go and take Sam home so he can sleep. I will check in with him in the morning."

"I will." Leah nodded and then turned to me and Jacob. "I can drop the two of you off at the beach again afterwards if you want."

"It's okay Lee, I think I'm going to stay at home. I'm actually pretty tired." I said with a small smile. It wasn't a lie, I was tired, but I was unnerved and still a bit jumpy. The antsy feeling I got at the prom was still tingling under my skin. I didn't think that I could stand to be around a loud crowd of people now.

Leah nodded her head, too worried about her boyfriend to question my decision, and turned to Jacob.

"Uh… I actually feel the same, but if you drop me off at the beach I could walk home. If you don't mind, of course." Jacob said quite hesitantly, but Leah sent him a small smile that seemed to make him relax slightly.

"I can drop you off at home Jacob, it's on the way back anyways." Leah offered as she helped Sam off the couch. Sam thanked my mom and sent a pained smile to me in farewell as the two of them headed back to the car. I waved back to him and wished him a speedy recovery. My mom took the now empty glass into the kitchen after Jacob said goodbye to her, leaving Jacob and I alone.

"Thanks for coming with me Han, I really appreciate it." Jacob said with a grateful and sad smile.

"Don't mention it Jake, it wasn't a problem." I pulled him into a tight hug. Jacob hugged me back just as tightly, a silent 'thank you' for the comfort, and then pulled away. With a more genuine smile on his face, he left.

"Well sweetie, you look nice." My mom said slyly as she entered the lounge again. "So did Jacob. The two of you never dress up." My mom commented, her tone full of implications.

"We crashed Bella Swan's prom." I said tiredly, the day's events as well as my disrupted sleep, finally taking its toll on me. My mom's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Dad and Billy asked us to. They needed us to give her a message." I said before she thought it was my idea. I was the mischievous one of the family after all.

"Oh." Was all that she said. I gave my mom a small smile and then hugged her, which she returned immediately.

"I'm completely pooped." I stated as I pulled away from my mom. "I'm going to crash early tonight, so good night." My mom nodded understandingly and then kissed my cheek.

"Alright Hannah, sleep tight."

I gave her one last tired wave as I headed towards the bathroom, intent on having a quick shower to wash off my makeup. The hot water helped sooth my rattled nerves slightly, something I was extremely relieved about. My exhaustion started to take over, my eyes starting to close of their own volition, so I decided to end my shower.

I wrapped myself in a towel and went to my room quickly, closing the door behind me and changed into the comfiest pyjamas I had. The pyjamas were a dark blue colour, with a picture of the moon of the long sleeve top. They were made from an extremely soft cotton that that made the pyjamas feel like a wearable hug every time I wore them. After the day I had, I felt that they were much needed.

As soon as they were on, I scrambled into my bed and snuggled under the covers already feeling like I was half asleep. Faintly I could hear Leah arrive back home, her soft footsteps heading straight to her bedroom. I lay in my bed peacefully, listening to the sound of the wind whispering through the trees of our back garden and the low hoots of owls. Just as I was drifting off to sleep to the sound of nature's lullaby, I heard a solitary howl of a wolf.

The last thought that crossed my mind before I surrendered to the pull of sleep was:

 _There aren't any wolves in La Push…_

* * *

 **I had actually planned to post this chapter over the weekend, but University has been kicking my butt with the workload recently. I will try to upload a new chapter every other week, if I don't have too much work. I will also try to keep the chapters quite long, so if it does take a while for me to post hopefully you won't hate me too much ;)**

 **Until next time xx**


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